On our third full day in Rome, we set out to explore Vatican City. We had booked a 9am visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, which allowed us to engage in more line-skipping. This was again a great move, as the line to get into the Vatican was stretching back many blocks even before the museums opened for the day. We purchased audio guides which proved to be very helpful, especially in the Sistine Chapel.Sistine ChapelAfter wandering through some of the Vatican's museum quarters, we entered the famous Sistine Chapel. The chapel is well-known as the site of the Papal elections, as well as for the elaborate paintings covering its walls and ceiling. We spent a while admiring these amazing works of art, though we were not permitted to take photos. Here are a few things we learned:

Michelangelo was not the only famous painter that worked on the chapelMichelangelo only painted the ceiling and front wall featuring The Last Judgement. The side panels were painted by a variety of master painters from that era including Botticelli. Raphael also created magnificent tapestries depicting the life of St. Peter and St. Paul. Sadly, the orignals were burned during the Sack of Rome in 1527.

If walls could talk...Well, these walls do! The side panels depict two sets of stories from the bible - one side features the life of Moses while the other side features the life of Jesus.

I'm Michelangelo and I do what I wantMichelanglo was originally commissioned to paint the 12 Apostles on the ceiling of the chapel. He turned down the job because he considered himself a sculptor, not a painter. As a compromise, the Pope said he could paint biblical scenes of his choosing. I guess this flexibility pleased Michelangelo because he accepted and chose The Creation, Adam and Eve, The Garden of Eden and the Great Flood.

What does Sistine mean anyway?The chapel is named for Pope Sixtus IV who restored the Capella Magna.

An artist's revenge Michelangelo painted most of the figures in The Last Judgement as nudes. One cardinal named Carafa was outraged by the naked figures and started a censorship campaign known as the Fig Leaf campaign, demanding that the figures be covered up. The Pope's own Master of Ceremonies, Biagio de Cesena, eventually denounced the nudes. Michelangelo was so angry with de Cesena for siding with Carafa that he painted de Cesena's semblance into Minos, judge of the underworld. The nudes were eventually covered up by artist Daniele de Volterra, nicknamed The Breeches Painter.

St. Peter's BasilicaAfter spending the better part of an hour in the Sistine Chapel, we next made our way over to St. Peter's to see the magnificent interior of the cathedral. This is one area where our streak of line-skipping came to an end, as it did not seem possible to avoid the massive queue of people stretching well beyond the beginning of the colonnade. Entrance to the basilica is free, however, and the line here moves fairly quickly. If you have never been to the basilica, it is a truly amazing and beautiful place, and a must-see if you are in Rome.

Ready to see St. Peter's

Greeted by a couple of angels

Every inch is spectacular!

Bernini: The Master of MovementI'm in awe of Bernini. He had the ability to make stone look like it's moving.

Bernini's baldacchinno - At 98 feet tall, it's said to be the largest piece of bronze in the world.

Bernini's "Cathedra Petri" and "Gloria" (gold altar in the background). In person, it looks as though it's melting out of the wall.

Pope John Paul II John Paul II was, and still is, adored by Catholics all over the world, so it's no surprise that his tomb rests under an altar in the basilica. Most popes are laid to rest below the basilica in the grottoes (more on this later). Among all the chapels within St. Peter's, this one was full of the most worshipers.

Pope John Paul II's tomb in the Chapel of St. Sebastian at St. Peter's

A family, praying together at Pope John Paul II's tomb

Changing of the GuardsWhen we left St. Peter's the Swiss Guards were changing stations. I know it's tradition, but these soldiers wear the most ridiculous uniforms. You'd think they would have a lighter version for those sizzling summer days in Rome!

I caught this guard wiping away the sweat from his face after standing in the sun for about 10 minutes.

Vatican NecropolisAfter a lunch break, we had booked an afternoon tour of the Necropolis beneath St. Peter's Basilica. The Necropolis was an ancient above-ground cemetery filled with tombs and mausoleums of wealthy Roman families. This cemetery also housed St. Peter's tomb, which was discovered underneath an ancient Roman family mausoleum.

Upon discovery of St. Peter's tomb, the emperor Constantine filled in much of the Necropolis in order to build the first St. Peter's church over St. Peter's tomb in about 320AD. The Necropolis was not excavated until the 1940's under the direction of Pope Pius XI, who wished to be buried near St. Peter's grave. These excavations discovered what is thought to be St. Peter's tomb and remains. Some of his remains were removed and are housed in different places, including the sphere above St. Peter's dome. Today, visitors can book a tour to visit parts of the Necropolis, and can view a portion of St. Peter's tomb that was left exposed during the recent excavations.

Unfortunately, this was another area where photos were not allowed, but we would certainly recommend seeing this area for yourself. We loved seeing the many layers that led to St. Peter's final resting place. These tombs provide evidence on how the ancient Romans' outlook on Christianity changed over time. For example, most tombs housed many family members and the walls were covered with pagan symbols, images, and writing since most people worshiped these gods during that era. However, every now and then there were tombs with this symbol:

Chi-Ro - early Christian symbol (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

This was the early symbol for Christianity or followers of Jesus Christ. This symbol on a singular grave resting in a pagan tomb means that the family respected this person's decision follow the Christian faith. These people contributed to building the foundation of the Catholic faith...and they are literally IN the foundation of its greatest church.

In addition to seeing St. Peter's tomb, we got to see the small chapels beneath St. Peter's Basilica toward the end of the tour. These were stunning! We also walked through the grottoes and saw the tombs of many of the popes throughout history.

Tip: You need to book your Necropolis tour by contacting the Vatican well in advance. At the end of the tour, you come out right near St. Peter's Basilica, and can enter the Basilica without waiting in the massive line. So, if you are scheduled for a Necropolis tour, you'll also get to visit St. Peter's. We didn't find this out until after we'd already waited in line to visit St. Peter's earlier that day, however, we decided to pop back in for another visit anyway.

After several busy days in Rome, we had an early night and got ready to depart for our next stop, the Amalfi coast!

After spending a relaxing week in Umbria, we were ready to sightsee in Rome. Mom and Dad Barbier would be joining us for 9 days so we had a lot to look forward to! Yet Another Serendipitous Moment! We arrived the day before Chris’ parents arrived and stayed at a little B&B in the Prati neighborhood called St. Peter’s Guesthouse. We cannot recommend this B&B highly enough. It’s in a great location near the Vatican and the Metro, the rooms are modern and clean, and the bed was very comfortable (a rare find in Italy). They give you complimentary treats like fresh almonds, chocolate and red wine, and you can also take free snacks from the common kitchen (coffee, yogurt, fruit, cookies, beverages). I felt like I was back at Google! That evening, we discovered that our friend Rosemary was in Rome taking a 2-week class. We were lucky to cross paths with her since she'd be returning to Boston just two days later. We met for dinner at a little osteria in the Prati neighborhood where we sat outside and spent the evening catching up and laughing.

Dinner with Rosie in Rome!

Rosie & Chris making me laugh!

Team Barbier x2 The next morning, two more Barbiers joined our team. We picked up Mom and Dad Barbier at the airport in the morning and then ventured back to find the apartment we had rented for the next few nights. Our apartment was also located in the Prati area, about a ten-minute walk from the Vatican. The apartment was great – newly renovated, spacious, quiet and it had a fantastic A/C – very important for summer in Rome. The unit had 3 large bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and living room – all connected by one giant hallway. My two favorite parts of the apartment were the SUPER tall ceilings and this poster hanging on the kitchen wall:

Gregory Peck in our kitchen!

I really enjoyed seeing Gregory Peck every morning and might have to purchase a similar print for my own kitchen one day.

A man named Roberto greeted us and showed us around the place. He spent a half hour outlining places to see & eat on a map – very helpful! I’d recommend staying at this apartment, especially if you are traveling with a group. Another Rome tip: If you find yourself here with a car, the Prati neighborhood is a great place to stay, because you can easily find street parking for just 8 Euros per day. The rest of the city is either off-limits to cars, or it is very expensive/impossible to find parking. That afternoon we explored the Prati neighborhood, walking down to the river and seeing the Castel Sant’Angleo. A couple of fun facts about Castel Sant’Angelo:

The Roman Emperor Hadrian commissioned it as a mosoleum for himself and his family

It was later used as a fortress for the popes. There is a tunnel called the Passetto di Borgo that connects St. Peter’s to Castel Sant’Angelo. Pope Clement VII used this tunnel to flee St. Peter’s during the famous Sack of Rome in 1527!

Castel Sant'Angelo

Angles along the bridge leading to Castel Sant'Angelo

That night, we dined at Da Vito e Dina in the Prati neighborhood. It was a very low key, friendly neighborhood restaurant with tasty food. After dinner we stopped at Old Bridge for gelato (obviously)!

Limoncello to end the night!

The Colosseum: The next morning, we had a tour set up for the Colosseum. We were so happy we reserved our tickets & tour in advance because the line was incredibly long and the heat was oppressive. We walked right past the line to pick up our tickets and waited about 5 minutes for our tour to begin. Our guide was a tiny woman named Anna Maria and she walked us through the Colosseum in about 45 minutes. You are probably familiar with the blood, gore and debauchery that took place here. However, here are a few things you may not know:

The Colossuem is made of travertine and used to be completely white. They are currently trying to restore it to its original color.

The structure was held together by giant iron clasps, which are no longer there because they were removed and used in the construction of the Vatican. In fact, most of the Roman Forum and Colosseum were torn down/stripped in order to provide materials for other buildings in Rome. Amazingly, the Colosseum still stands, sans clasps.

The official name of the Colosseum is the Flavian Amphitheater. It became commonly known as the Colosseum because of the colossal statute of Constantine that stood in front of it during Roman times.

Gladiators could be slaves, enemies conquered in war, or regular free people who signed up to fight. A gladiator rarely lived past the age of 30. However, the average Roman citizen of the time also did not long past age 30, so a gladiator's life expectancy wasn't as short as I initially thought it would be.

All of the events held at the Colosseum were totally free to the public. Events could either be sponsored by the emperor, or very wealthy Romans, as 'gifts' to the Roman citizens.

The Colosseum. This used to be completely white, held together by iron clasps. The dark spots on the exterior are where the clasps used to be.

Inside the Colosseum

Roman Forum:This was one of the highlights in Rome. While we didn’t have a guide, we did download an app onto the iPad that helped provide context. A guide would probably have been best, but you need to secure them OUTSIDE the entrance gate. We thought we could secure one inside the gate. We did learn some interesting things:

1. Another Use for VinegarVinegar has los of uses - salad dressing, cleaning agent and some people even put it on sunburned skin. Well, here is another use to add to the list - vinegar dissolves marble. Since most of the ancient Roman buildings were made of marble, barbarians used ropes soaked in vinegar to try to destroy the buildings, by entwining their marble columns in the rope. That is why you see those deep cuts on the columns in the picture below. This strategy didn't work very well since the vinegar also ate away at the ropes!

See the marks just below the top of the columns? Those are from the vinegar soaked ropes that enemies used to try and destroy the building.

2. The Patron Saint of CooksSaint Lorenzo, originally from Spain, was an archdeacon in Rome who was responsible for the church's treasury. When the Roman emperor Valerian commanded that all Christian bishops, priests and deacons be put to death, he also demanded the church's treasury to turned over to him. Lorenzo rushed to distribute all the church's money to the poor and needy. When Valerian's men came for the treasury, Lorenzo presented them with the poor people of the city, saying they were the true treasures of the church.

Needless to say, Valerian was not happy. His men laid Lorenzo down on a piping hot gridiron in an effort to torture him so he'd tell them where the church's treasures were hidden. He would not give in and after 8 hours of cooking on the iron Lorenzo exclaimed "This side is well done. Turn me over". He eventually died on the gridiron and he is now known as the patron saint of cooks and chefs.

Saint Lorenzo was cooked alive in front of this building.

3. Six 40 Year Old VirginsBeing selected as a Vestal Virgin was one of the greatest honors in ancient Rome. The six vestals had one main task - to keep the eternal flame lit at all times. They were also required to stay chaste during their 30-year term. There were severe punishments if they failed in these two areas:

If the flame went out, the emperor would publicly beat the virgin in charge.

If one broke her vow of chastity, she was sentenced to death by being buried alive.

Technically, they didn't have to adhere to these rules their entire lives. They were selected when they were young (6-10 years old) and served a 30-year term: 10 years of training, 10 years keeping the flame lit, 10 years teaching new recruits how to manage the flame. Back then, 40 was considered pretty old so most of their lives revolved around this one task. After 30 years of service they were usually married to Roman royalty. Marrying a former vestal virgin was considered a high honor and came with a sizable dowry.

The girls had no choice in the matter. In ancient Rome, it was a big deal if your daughter was chosen to be a Vestal Virgin. It was the parental trump card.

At first, I thought Vestal Virgins led a dull life, attending to a flame all day for 30 years. But upon learning more about them, it was a pretty good gig in ancient Rome. Firstly, the Romans considered them lucky because they got to escape the obligations of marriage and children (which leads me to believe that being a wife in ancient Rome must have been difficult). They were considered high priestesses and had the opportunity to study state rituals off limits to male priests. They could own property, make a will, vote, and condemn prisoners. Their word was trusted above all and emperors often sought their advice so they had a lot of political influence. They were also entrusted with the state's most important documents and relics.

The remains the Vestals' temple (left) and house.

After the forum, we walked back to the metro, stopping to see the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps along the way. We went home, showered and then headed back downtown for dinner. After a quick stop to see the exterior of the Pantheon, we went to dinner at Armando al Pantheon, where we had a delicious meal. Afterwards we walked to Piazza Navona where we got gelato at the same gelateria that Chris' mom went to when she was 12 years old! Chris' dad also ordered a tartuf which was a delicious new discovery for all of us. We really enjoyed strolling around Piazza Navona and the surrounding streets at night.

Chris, after throwing 3 coins into the Trevi fountain. We'll be back again!

Chris' mom in front of the same gelateria in Piazza Navona she had visited when she was 12 years old.